In an increasingly connected world, technology users have become progressively more concerned about their privacy and what is being shared from their mobile devices, and rightly so. Addressing those concerns at last year’s Mobile World Congress, the first generation of the Blackphone was unveiled, designed as a secure mobile device for personal communications. The goal of the first generation of the Blackphone was to give consumers an option for mobile device that emphasized privacy and security as its core features.
As one might expect, following major security breaches such as the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack and the British phone hacking scandal, the demand for more secure devices rose dramatically since the Blackphone’s original release. In fact, the phone was heralded by Time Magazine as one of best 25 inventions of 2014. It became increasingly clear that consumers, and even large workforces, wanted more.
Fast-forward to this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and Silent Circle, the U.S. company that produces the encrypted phone system, revealed the Blackphone 2, as well as a tablet (the Blackphone+), and a renewed business focus on enterprise security solutions.
“Enterprise privacy is similar to individual privacy. The same technologies can protect both,” said Phil Zimmermann, Silent Circle co-founder. “My own work in developing privacy technology has always been motivated by my interest in individual privacy as a human right. The recent Sony experience shows that enterprises too have a responsibility to up their game to protect the privacy of their own people and their partners.”
As the company stated in a press release timed with Mobile World Congress, Silent Circle has unveiled the “world’s first enterprise privacy platform, a unique combination of devices, software and services, based upon and built from a fundamentally different mobile architecture.”
A platform comprised of devices, software, and services
Following the staggering global response to the first-gen Blackphone, Silent Circle set to work on improving the device before unveiling the Blackphone 2 this week. The second generation of the device incorporates an all-glass front and back, with a larger full-HD display screen, faster 64-bit processor, longer-lasting battery life and more memory. It also integrates with existing MDM systems such as Citrix, Soti and Good. The phone emphasizes its ability to transmit secure calls and texts, but provides for no built-in email product at this time.
So, how does it work? The phone’s system runs all communications as app data, allowing for temporary messaging, potentially protecting against SIM-based malware. Silent Circle’s core set of applications, called the “Silent Suite,” enable private, encrypted communications, and is available on PrivatOS, iOS and Android.
Using the same proprietary encryption technology as the Blackphone, the Blackphone+ tablet is “the world's first privacy focused tablet… [providing] next generation technology built to offer privacy for today's mobile workforce.” Taking into account the evolution of an employee-base that now uses their personal devices for connecting to their enterprise networks, the Blackphone+ tablet addresses the security concerns of a mobile workforce. The eight-inch tablet prototype is expected to be released this fall.
The Blackphone 2 and the Blackphone+ run on the company’s proprietary Android-based operating system (OS), called PrivatOS, which protects metadata and provides end-to-end encryption. According to Silent Circle, “There is no software, no hooks to carriers, and no leaky data. It puts privacy in the hands of the user, without any sacrifice to your productivity.”
During this week’s Mobile World Congress, the company uncovered PrivatOS 1.1, the first major upgrade to the OS, which introduces a virtualization and management solution – called Spaces – that enables devices to be used for all aspects of mobile life without compromising privacy, ease-of-use, or choice.
Ducking for cover?
But if you thought your information would be safe from intelligence agencies such as the NSA, think again. While Silent Circle does claim that they have created the most secure smartphone on the market, even they submit that there are some agencies from which you cannot completely fly under the radar.
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